A competitor is a rival. They are focused on the same things you are: your market and your customers. Competitors are direct challengers to your company’s existence and are usually seen as adversaries. They are. But they can …

Sales are money for something. Sales are an exchange of goods or services for units of value. They are a referendum from your customers on the usefulness of your company. Every transaction affirms or denies their views or …

A product is something that is made to be sold. It can be tangible or intangible. It is the consequence of a process with the purpose of creating a good or service that satisfies a customer’s needs. It’s …

A customer is a purchaser of your goods or services. They buy what you are selling. They can have distinctive traits that allow you to organize them into groups. They can be loyal or short term, every nationality, …

The market growth rate is a measure of change, from period X to Y. It helps you to determine your possibilities by assessing your environment: Is your market getting bigger or smaller? It’s pretty tough to build sales …

A market is a zone of commerce, wherein parties exchange goods and services for consideration. The consideration is something of equivalent value, like cash. Basically a market is where you buy or sell stuff. It gets interesting when …

Growth means expansion, increasing in size, gaining scale, maturing and getting better. Growth is good. Growth is actually great! But are your growth plans realistic and are they realistic in the timetable you’ve laid out? It’s both important …

Introducing LaunchPad ToolKit: Your guide to writing a Lean Business Plan. We know the feeling. You have a great idea for a new business, you want to get started, but you aren’t quite sure how to put it …

Risk is a possibility of the loss of something valuable. It can be many things like a threat you don’t understand, uncertainty about your market or a disruption to your core business. Risk can be qualitative: your plans …